Author's Notes: Hey everybody! So…we finally got to this chapter, uh?
Ok, I'm going to level with you guys. I had a hard time working on this one. Oddly enough, I seem to have more trouble with shorter chapters and stories than longer ones. Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
Here's the second chapter of "Three Tests of Valor": Super Villains
Whatever was on his plate could only have been considered food in the broadest sense of the word; its constant bubbling and pale green coloring made it more akin to toxic waste.
And to think, these were originally eggs.
Harold didn't care. Nothing could have taken him off of his good feeling.
The previous day had been the best of his life. For the first time ever, his mad skills were recognized. It was because of him alone that the Killer Bass obtained their first victory. Even though, aside from Bridgette and possibly DJ, the Killer Bass still treated him as before, it didn't matter. But thankfully, winning the dodge ball competition was not the greatest reason for him being so happy.
Looking across the cafeteria to the Screaming Gopher's side, he saw the real reason why.
He saw Lindsay, eating with Izzy, looking worried. As he was coming into the mess hall, Harold had heard something about being out of fake tanner and about how she'd have to get a sun tan…from the sun. Despite her looking deeply worried, Harold still smiled.
He would have given anything to be able to go over to Lindsay and make her feel better.
But Harold knew he couldn't. Lindsay, after some difficulty thanks to her questionable memory, had told him about the rules of Heather's alliance. It was killing him to keep this a secret! He just wanted to shout as loud as he could that Lindsay was his girlfriend, his first girlfriend, and how it made him feel the happiest he had ever felt!
Even so, he did something rarely known to him. Harold restrained himself. That was very difficult for him, for his whole life he never did anything except what he wanted to, even if everyone thought he was a loser or a geek because of it. Still, he restrained himself.
Seeing Lindsay in secret was far better than not seeing Lindsay at all. Whenever the chaff of secrecy became too much, the Nerd remembered back to how they hooked up. With that memory being the happiest thing he could think of, it easily washed over his mind.
He was leaving the washrooms, being the last person to his knowledge to be doing so. For as long as he could remember, Harold had taken long showers. Feeling the warm beads of water drop onto his skin and bony body gave him a peace of mind he rarely got anywhere else. They were especially soothing after he had endured some great embarrassment or shame. And sadly, the course of events today was just that.
What other reaction could there be for when that idiot Duncan made him wet himself!?
The anger he felt was overpowered by his fear. He thought for sure he'd be laughed at!
Looking back on it, two things saved him from being laughed at. Everyone else around him was likely far too tired to notice thanks to the challenge. And Chris came by, announcing that everyone except the five still awake could hit the showers. Finding a lucky break when he needed it, Harold ran at the chance to get away as fast as he could.
Even so, his shame was so strong that he waited until almost everyone else had showered before taking his and chancing into some dry pants.
Trying to find solace wherever he could, Harold at least thought they were comfy pants. After all, he was in his pajamas. And not just his pajamas but his Superman pajamas. They were his favorite pair, they were very comfy and he liked the idea that wearing them he could be Superman, as if the red/yellow shield with an S would empower him.
Sadly, Harold didn't feel very empowered. As he walked away from the showers and towards the male Killer Bass cabin, Harold thought about how this place was going to be just like home, and how much that sucked.
Maybe if he slept now he'd never wake up? Maybe a miracle would happen? Maybe…?
"Hector! No…uh, Hagar? Hamlet? No, that's not it! Um…Harry?" Someone asked.
The sheer strangeness of it caused Harold to stop dead in his tracks. He thought that everyone else had already fallen asleep expect for those still competing. Though puzzled, he assumed that someone was trying to call out to him. He hoped not. He really didn't want to talk to anyone after what happened today. He turned around to tell them as much.
But when he did…Harold froze!
He recognized that this was one of the girls from the Screaming Gophers but even so his mind was blown. While her great figure, blonde hair, and blue eyes were all the same, what was different about her was what she was wearing. Just like him, she was in her PJs. But unlike him, her PJ's made her look even better than she already did.
Lindsay's nightwear was made up of three pieces, all of which were a bright pink. The first was a simple pink headband that replaced her normal blue bandana. The second was a pair of shorts that ended far above her knees. But it was the third that was the best. It was a tube top with very thin strings that were partially off of her shoulders and openings for the arms that were likely close to double the needed size for her arms to fit through. The result of both of these features was that her PJ top exposed a lot of boob!
Harold had never seen so much beautiful breast in person and his mouth became dry. He knew it was not right but he couldn't stop his eyes from being locked on that cleavage.
'Clean thoughts, chum! Clean thoughts, chum!' Harold repeated to himself mentally while he struggled to ask this beautiful blonde, "Y-ya-your L-Lindsay, right?"
"Yup!" Lindsay said, suddenly seeming infinity happier. Harold couldn't help but notice that thought she did still have bags under her eyes from tiredness they weren't so bad. Even the growing bands of grey couldn't diminish the angelic beauty of her blue eyes.
"W-wa-what do you want?" Harold finally asked Lindsay with more difficulty.
"Oh!" Lindsay said, seemingly caught off-guard by the obvious question. "I, like, just wanted to say I want to say sorry for that big, dumb meanie Doug making you go pee-pee in your pants earlier today. That was, like, so mean!"
Harold looked horrified; someone had seen that he had wet himself. And a girl no less!
"Thanks." Harold said with absolutely no emotion whatsoever and a sad face.
"Why do you look so sad? Is it just the pee-pee thingy?" Lindsay asked, being oddly observant for her.
"No, it's not just that."
"Then what is it?"
"Its just…just, GOSH!" Harold said overwhelmed. "I thought that I wouldn't have to deal with the crap from bullies that I have to do in my hometown! I'm such a fool, even worse than Jar Jar Binks! Why should I have expected anything better here!?"
"Because your, like, a really great guy! Your not a meanie who makes people pee-pee." Lindsay answered, not realizing that the Nerd's question was rhetorical.
Hearing that seemed to lift Harold's spirits has he developed a smile. But still, he seemed kind of sad.
Lindsay was smiling to, and like Harold's, it wasn't a full one, but for a different reason.
Suddenly looking nervous, Lindsay asked, "Uh…I, like, might know a trick to make you feel better. Would you like to see if it works?"
Unsure about what it could be but seeing nothing to lose by trying, Harold nodded.
"Okay, then, like…uh, like…close your eyes, 'kay?"
Harold did so, transforming his world into a featureless black. Nothing happened.
For the next few seconds, nothing happened.
"Lindsay, wha-ACK!" Harold started to ask, planning on asking what was supposed to happen, until he felt a wonderful sensation!
It was warm, moist, soft…and pressed against his lips!
The surprise of it might have made Harold jerk his head away, if not for the two things that he felt on the back of his head keeping it in place. He felt spaces between ten openings that subtly expended and contracted, combing through his auburn hair.
Amid the succulent sensation on his lips, it took him a few moments to piece it together. He felt fingers, hands, on the back of his head, holding it in place. And on his lips…he felt lips.
Another person's lips…someone was kissing Harold!
The Nerd was about to reach his own arms out blindly when the kiss ended. There was a wet pop and a trail of saliva reaching from his lips…connecting him to the other lips.
Harold felt both relieved and disappointed when the kiss ended. He opened his eyes.
When he did, he saw Lindsay, still standing right in front of him in her sexy nightwear. But she looked different. Her face was a massive growth of red weed, a growing blush. And she was looking down at the ground, unable to look the Nerd in the eyes. Looking down, Harold saw that she was digging one of her feet lightly into the topsoil.
Still looking down and blushing, Lindsay asked, "So…uh, like, are you…like, feeling any better?" Her voice was light, both sounding innocent and yet fearing guilt as well.
Harold just stood there, with his betty-eyes behind thick green glass blinking mindlessly. He was still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened.
"W-wa-wur-why, why…why did you do that?" Harold asked after much difficulty.
"To make you feel better and…and…" Lindsay said before showing a greater massive blush as she added, "…and, because I, like…uh, like you. Like, I like, like you, Herod."
Now Harold was really stunned and still…even more so than he previously was, which quite frankly didn't seem physically possible.
That was the final straw of proof…this had to be a dream! There was no other explanation for how a beautiful blonde bombshell in her sexy nightwear would kiss him!
"R-ra-real-really?" Harold finally asked after a few minutes of mindless stuttering.
Lindsay, unsure of Harold's feeling towards, nervously smiled and nodded her head.
Struggling even more than he already was, because Lindsay looking so nervous was possibly the cutest thing he had ever seen, Harold finally pulled out, "Ha-how…how?"
"Well…" Lindsay started to say, looking away from Harold and twirling a strand of her long blonde hair between a few of her fingers, "…I've always have, like, had a thing for nerds. There, like, so smart…like, really, really smart! And their really, really cute too. I always get the gigglies when I see the looks on their faces when I'm in my sexy clothing. Its just so cute that I want to just shove their faces into my boobies for hours and hours!"
The Blonde stopped when she sees the look on Harold's face: staring off into space, his face was not just blushing red but fully red, some drool was dripping out of his mouth.
"Yeah, that's, like, the look! And it looks even cuter on you!" Lindsay said cheerfully, as the said look on Harold's face increases. "Anyway, there were so many cute nerdies that I wanted to date, kiss, and touch my boobies…but I never, like, asked any of them out."
The cheerfulness left Lindsay's face as she looked sad and yet so oddly adorable. "Back at my school, most of my friends say that I shouldn't date nerds. They think I should date jocks. But, like, I don't like jocks. Sure, I'm sure they're sweet and kinda cute but I don't like them in that way. I don't know why my friends say I can't date nerds. It makes no sense to me. But, most things don't make sense to me. Like, what's wrong with nerds?"
The Blonde's face became an even brighter red as she stopped talking for a few seconds. "But, like, those people aren't here. I can date any guy I want, and I want to date you."
Harold didn't respond to Lindsay's words. Instead, he did something he never would have considered before. Acting before his nerves could overpower him, Harold closed the small gap between him and Lindsay. Once that was done, he kissed Lindsay hungrily.
It took mere microseconds for Lindsay to return Harold's efforts in full. Amid the strong storm of teenage hormones, they had somehow made there where to the hidden shed. Once there, they spend all of the remaining day and the majority of the night making out.
As the flashback ended, Harold noticed that Chris was summoning them to another location, likely to reveal the next challenge. With the memory of him hooking up with Lindsay still fresh in his mind, Harold proceeded out of the mess hall with a smile.
But as nice as Harold's joy was, it did have its drawbacks. For example, the Dweeby Nerd was completely oblivious to the teal eyes glaring at him with palpable wrath.
CONFESSIONAL
(Static)
"So Barbie's hoping to bang the Nerd, eh?" Duncan asked with a sneer most unpleasant. "Well that has to be stopped pronto! The idea of a dweeb like Harold being happy and having unlimited access to that babe's big naughty pillows disgusts me to no end. Its not only just not right but it sends the wrong massage. What would it say if a nerd like Harold got a hottie way too above him? That nerds and dweebs can outdo guys like me who are actual men? Like I said, that has to be stopped pronto!" He then started to rub his chin in thought. "And I think I have a hunch of who can help me make that happen?"
(Static)
END OF CONFESSIONAL
Heather never would have admitted it to anyone but she felt trapped and was secretly fuming. She was caught between the two principal drives of her character, the desire to win and the pleasure in making those less popular, and ergo less worthy, than her suffer.
Today's challenge was simple enough…a talent show. But compact within that simple challenge there was an unexpected dilemma.
On the one hand, Heather didn't want to lose the challenge, with the sting of the previous day's defeat still wounding her. But on the other hand, she had a very strong desire to strike out at Gwen, that pathetic Goth was everything she hated presented in one person. She had to suffer for that.
The Queen Bee had recently developed an idea for how to do so, but to do it she would have to forsake her ballet routine which she knew would score the Gophers a lot of points. That didn't concern her too much. But what did was the knowledge that if she did what she wanted to do, she knew that she would be placing a large target on her back since it would offend the losers on her team and give her team few if any points tonight.
She had been brooding over this for sometime, more so ever since she sent Lindsay to spy on Gwen in the hopes of discovering some good dirt to maybe get her voted off. Besides she couldn't stand to listen to anymore of the bimbo's useless idea for an act.
And that was something that was in abundance among the Screaming Gophers, useless acts. Aside from Trent and herself, no one else had an act that she deemed worthy. Naturally this compelled Heather to want to take a shot at Gwen…but it didn't solve the main problem of her unquestionably being the one voted off if and when her team lost.
Heather was combing through the vast resources of skills at manipulation that she possessed but she came up with nothing. Nevertheless, she searched herself thoroughly.
The Queen Bee was so focused on this issue that she failed to hear the footsteps behind her until the person was only a few paces away from Heather to her back.
Duncan smirked as he wiggled his uni-brow like a black undulating ocean wave. "Hey there, Hot Stuff."
It took the Queen Bee a few moments to recognize the unfamiliar voice. After she put a name and a face to it, she reacted appropriately.
"Get away from me, you punk!" Heather said without even turning around to face him.
"Whao, Gorgeous. Didn't your mother ever tell you that it wasn't nice to be rude to people?"
"I seem to remember her saying something about that once but I wasn't really listening."
"You don't say? I never would have guessed that." Duncan said sarcastically.
"I'm only going to say this one more time, get away from me! If I so much as smell that cheap deodorant you've slathered yourself in again I'll castrate you with a dull spoon!"
For the briefest of moments, Duncan recoiled and subconsciously placed his hands over his crotch. He was thankful that Heather had her back to him so she didn't see him flinch.
Then Duncan got an idea.
"Ok, ok…you've made your point. I'll leave your sexy ass alone."
"Good! Now get going!"
"As you wish, Hot Stuff." Duncan said before starting to turn away and taking a few steps away from Heather. "This is why I don't try to be the nice guy, they always get the short end of the stick. Imagine me trying to inform you that your blonde, big-breasted lackey is seeing someone on the Killer Bass behind your back? All well…I guess I'll-"
"WHAT!?" Heather suddenly shouted, interrupting Duncan and not caring at all.
"Yeah, I was shocked to find that out too." Duncan said as he kept walking away from Heather slowly, only now with a smirk appearing on his face. "It was just so hard to believe, that she's been swapping spit with someone on the other team for at least a day. I had merely figured that you'd like to know who it is since I've seen them in the act myself. But I guess I was wrong. Since I'm now quivering in fear for my goods, I'll just-"
"GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW, PUNK!" Heather roared.
Duncan stopped walking away but his back remained to Heather. "I don't know, Sexy. I think you might have traumatized me with that quip about wanting to cut off my dick. But maybe hearing a apology from you might help me recover from your rude behavior?"
Heather balked. "What!? You want me to apologize to you? You can go to hell, Creep!"
"Ok, have it your way." Duncan said with a shrug of his shoulders. He then proceeded to slowly walk away from Heather. "Again, its such a shame. I actually wanted to tell you, and help you get them both off of this island. But if your going to be unreasonable, then I'll take my business elsewhere and let you have the fun of figuring out which of the guys on the Killer Bass is currently playing with your living Barbie doll for yourself."
Duncan again stopped when he heard Heather grumble something that was inaudible.
"What was that?" Duncan asked, now sporting a massive smirk.
Again, Heather grumbled something, this time with it only being slightly louder.
"Oh yeah, I totally heard that." Duncan said sarcastically. "Well, if you've got nothing else to say then I'll just be-"
"Wait!" The Queen Bee shouted.
"Yes?" Duncan asked, with his uni-brow raised even though Heather couldn't see that.
"I-I…I, I'm…I'm, I'm s-sa-sar…I'm sorry. Ok!?" Heather said with herculean effort.
This amused Duncan to no end, a simple apology was more painful than a root canal.
Duncan turned around, not attempting to hide his pleasure. "See, now was that so hard?"
Heather glared at Duncan, wishing for him to explode; with the only thing keeping her from kicking him in the kiwis was remembering that she wanted to know what he knew.
The urge to kick his kiwis became even greater when he was right in front of her and his smirk was just as cocky and satisfied as it had previously been. And then it became even greater then that when the Punk just stood their looking at Heather's pissed off face.
"Well?" Heather finally asked with a snap. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"Just soaking in how hot you look when you're pissed off. It's a good look for you."
The Punk savored the twitching of Heather's right eye. At any moment he expected steam to come shooting out of her ears. But as pleasing as that would be to see, Duncan knew that he had wasted enough time. He had had his fun but he knew he had work to do.
Getting serious, Duncan told Heather what he had discovered about Lindsay and Harold.
The Queen Bee listened intently without saying a single word. In fact, didn't seem like she was doing anything. Her face was almost completely appearing to be made of stone. The only indication that it wasn't was a slight, increasingly constant twitching in her left eye. Even as Duncan kept revealing what he had learned, he was secretly disappointed.
CONFESSIONAL
(Static)
"Ya know, I was secretly disappointed." Duncan admitted to the camera. "I thought for sure that the Asian Hottie would have erupted like a sexy volcano after what I told her." He then shrugged his shoulders. "Chicks, man. Who can figure 'em? But hey, as long as they've got huge boobs to squeeze and hot asses to tap, then I won't be complain'. Besides, maybe I just misread Heather and her temper?"
(Static)
"I hate them . . . Hate them! HATE THEM! HATE! HATE! HATE! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!" Heather shouted in violent rage as her balled up fists slammed down on the sides of the confessional, causing the camera to shake.
As the camera continues to slightly shake around for a few seconds, Heather seethes.
"Ok, Heather. Calm down. Work past the fact that your alliance member has the hots for the most pathetic excuse of a nerd that you've ever encountered and she's acting on it." She said to herself while taking slow, deep breaths to clam herself down. "What's so bad about that, right?"
The Queen Bee was silent and appearing to be cooling down.
"Oh…that bimbo is going to burn for this! And I'll break that nerd in half like a twig! By the time I'm done with them they'll both wish they had never been born to begin with!" She roared out of nowhere before once again taking several deep breathes.
"Alright, now that that is out of my system, for the time being…its time to think of a plan." She then began to tap her chin with one of her thin and finely pedicured fingernails. "Let's see. As me and the Criminal already agreed on, Lindsay's got to be the first one to suffer and go. I need to send a message to Beth and everyone else on this island…no one backstabs me!
"But how do it? Lindsay's too stupid for anyone to believe that she would make our team lose on purpose and she's too sweet for anyone to believe that she would be attempting to manipulate people, so framing her is out. And aside from her," Heather paused with a shutter of disgust, "kissing Harold, I've got no good dirt against her, so blackmail's out. And simply exposing her is out of question because either people wouldn't believe me or they would side with Lindsay simply to spite me. There's only one way to eliminate her. It's going to take a massive misfortunate that would really hurt the team for most of the losers on the Gophers to vote off Lindsay. Its gotta be something where she alone is at fault, something that proves how much of handicap she can be. Um? What could I do? What could I-" Heather then stopped in mid-thought as her calculating and cold grey eyes expand considerably with a look of epiphany. "My God…that's it! Its perfect!"
After being silent for a second, Heather started to laugh madly in a very unsettling way.
(Static)
END OF CONFESSIONAL
Laughter could also be found on the other side of the island, in a small shed near the washrooms. But this laughter wasn't unsettling in the slightest. Instead it was bubbly, light, and sweet…matching the girl who was laughing.
Now Lindsay had the most sincere of intentions when she left Heather's side earlier, well, as sincere as spying on Gwen to discover some secret dirt to destroy her could possibly be. But as she searched for Gwen, she got lost. After wandering around for a little bit alone, she finally bumped into someone. When she saw that it was Harold, she barely stopped herself from squealing in delight. Even seeing Harold looking a little down didn't change that. It turned out that Harold was feeling down because Courtney shot down his talent before he even had a chance to show it. Seeing this, Lindsay reacted in the way she knew best. She started to kiss Harold while her hands slid themselves all over his body.
Before either teen fully knew what had happened, they were back in their make out shed.
But neither teen, not Lindsay who was happily sitting on Harold's lap with her legs wrapped around his waist, not Harold with the Blonde Bombshell's skirt directly over his "little Harold", could say that they were displeased as they continued to kiss and grope.
As you could imagine, both of the teens lost all track of time as they made out with each other. Sadly for them though, no one outside of the shed had, including the Queen Bee whose voice became combined with static through the two-way radio that Lindsay had.
"Lindsay, come in! What did you find out? Over!"
Flumping over her lanky lover, Lindsay attempted to reach the radio that had ended up behind Harold's back. But she was unable to reach it and pushed her further to reach it.
Harold was extremely conflicted on what to do. On the one hand, he knew that it would be better for Lindsay if she answered the radio quickly. But, on the other hand, Lindsay increasing efforts to push herself against Harold's chest to reach the radio were resulting in her massive melons being pressed deeper and deeper into that bony chest. As difficult as it was in the throngs of their passion, Harold had resisted the urge to grab the boobs, adhering to his belief that a true gentlemen would hold back until the lady was ready. More than that, Lindsay's skirt being directly over his "Little Harold" meant that they were basically humping each other while still clothed. The current situation was making it very, very hard for the Nerd to stay true to his principals.
"Lindsay, where are you!?"
Finally, knowing that he wouldn't be to resist much longer, Harold grabbed the radio. After handing it to Lindsay, the Blonde spoke into. "Uh…on my way back. Under!"
Looking at Harold with apologetic eyes that made his heart melt, Lindsay gave him a brief kiss and got off of his lap. She didn't draw attention to it but she was reveling in the fact that he had a massive column coming from his pants with a large stain on it. For the briefest of moments, Harold felt instinctual embarrassment before looking at Lindsay. She wasn't disgusted or turned off at all, just like when this happened the first time they made out. Thankfully, unlike that first time, Harold had brought an extra pair of pants and underwear. Again, Harold thanked his lucky stars for finding a girl like Lindsay.
But even in the afterglow of there making out, Harold had to speak his mind to Lindsay. "Lindsay, why do you let Heather boss you around?"
"Oh! She doesn't boss me around, Heraldo. We're friends, she told me so herself. And she's gonna take me and Breda to the final three!"
Looking away, Harold released a small but heavy sigh. As great as Lindsay was, Harold quickly realized that she wasn't prefect. He'd never admit it to anyone but he had to acknowledge that Lindsay wasn't that bright, which was mainly a problem in that she was easily tricked. But more than that, he hated it when she got his name wrong. Getting his name wrong lacked the same cuteness that was present when she confused any other names or labels. It almost felt like this relationship couldn't be totally real if she never once got his name right. He hoped the name thing would go away with time and he hoped to work on the other flaw, mainly in convincing Lindsay that Heather wasn't her friend.
"Lindsay, she doesn't really care about you. She just wants your vote before leaving you. She might even be the one who causes you to get eliminated so she remains in the game." Harold said, knowing that this likely wouldn't convince her but he had to say it anyway.
"Aw, Sweetie!" Lindsay cooed affectively as she got back onto Harold's lap, secretly savoring the feeling of the slowly deflating column as it went within her skirt again. She gently rubbed Harold's face. "Its, like, ok. I know you're worried about me but I'll be fine. Hannah's, like, a little…uh, intense but she's not mean or nasty or anything." Lindsay said. As dumb as Lindsay was, even she could tell that Harold wasn't convinced. So, developing a hot, naughty smirk, she added, "Besides, I'll always be ok with you. After all," She gave Harold a long, tongue filled kiss, "you're my superhero, right?"
Harold was too stunned and turned on to say anything. And with his brain currently fried, he just nodded his head. Seeing that and smiling, Lindsay left the shed to go find Heather.
Right now all Harold was thinking was that he was very thankful he brought an extra pair of pants and underwear. Even so, he couldn't compel his body to go get them for at least five minutes. More than ever before, Harold knew that he had to protect Lindsay.
He had to be her superhero.
Harold had walked a little distance away from the shed before someone came up to him. If he still hadn't been riding high on making out with Lindsay, Harold would have been crossed at seeing who it was.
"I know, dweeb!" Duncan said harshly, getting right to the point.
"Know what, Duncan?" Harold asked, annoyed and confused.
"That you've been sucking face and who knows what else with the big breasted blonde!"
The moment those words left the Punk's lips; Harold's annoyance and confusion vanished. What took their place was overpowering fear and concern. Duncan saw the shift and reveled in it. "Ha-how…how do you know?" Harold asked with difficulty.
"It ain't hard to notice two people kissing and squealing when they're only like twenty feet away from the communal washrooms that everyone on the island uses." Duncan said with arrogant assurance. "I gotta say, as pathetic as I think you are, I thought you'd be smarter about where you'd make out with her. But I guess I can't blame you too much. After all, I know I'd have done her out in the open if it meant I'd get to grab those boobs. Speaking of which," He added before flashing a perverted smile, "have you felt them yet? Are they as nice as they look? Has she completely given herself to you already? Considering that she's a brain-dead slut with no taste in men, I'll bet she already has."
The moment those words left Duncan's lips, Harold saw red. No one insulted Lindsay like that!
He prepared a devastating karate chop…before finding a hard force hit his stomach!
Finding all of the wind knocked out of his bony body, Harold fell to the ground. He was curled up into a ball, his body straining as it attempted to cover his stricken stomach.
"Like I said, no taste in men. Can't even take a punch to the gut like a man. Pathetic." Duncan said in mock disappointment as he moved his head from side to side. "But you should be thanking me, geek. I'm only being nice and not punching you some more because I'm here to make a deal with you. Trust me, your gonna want to hear what it is."
Harold didn't answer at first. He was too wounded to talk, but not mainly in body. No, instead what that punch to the gut hurt far more was his pride…and self-esteem. How could he be Lindsay's superhero when he was defeated so effortlessly by the villain!?
"Wh-what…what deal?" Harold asked, still recovering from the hard punch to his belly.
"This. If you don't want me to spill the beans to everyone about your secret make out sessions, you will do everything I tell you to do without question. In effect, I'll own you. What do you say?" Duncan said. When he noticed that Harold was about to answer, he added, "And remember, things will go south real quick for both you and her if this gets out. Your ass will be grass among the Bass. After all, it's basically that already, even after you gave us our only victory. You know as well as me that Courtney will want to wrench your head off for being involved with the enemy team, and she'll easily be able to sway the others into voting you off. And as for Lindsay, just imagine Heather's wrath at discovering the truth. Imagine all of the ways that she'll make Lindsay suffer and cry."
Harold got back on his feet and glared at the Punk as hardly as he could while he thought. More than anything, he wanted to shout at Duncan in the foulest language his could think of, which he knew but never dared say, that he would never agree to that deal…ever!
But then, Harold started to really consider what Duncan had just told him. As much as he hated to admit it, the vile punk who just punched him in the stomach was pretty spot-on. While he would have been willing to brave it if he had a choice in the manner, Harold knew that exposing his new relationship with Lindsay would put a target on his back among the Bass, in particular with someone as zealous and against him as Courtney was. Even that, though, wouldn't have been enough to make Harold considering agreeing. What really held sway in Harold mind were Duncan's words about Lindsay. Again, they seemed spot-on. Seeing Heather's treatment of Lindsay when she was her "friend" was bad enough. The Nerd didn't even want to imagine how bad it would be if the Queen Bee considered his girlfriend to be an enemy. He didn't want to imagine Lindsay crying. And if she was exposed, Harold was highly doubtful that any of the Gophers would support her. Even though it was clear as day that pretty much everyone on the Gophers hated Heather aside from Lindsay and Beth, he questioned if they'd view her relationship with him as some kind of team betrayal. If there new relationship was exposed, it seemed like only two fates awaited the Blonde Bombshell, either being instantly voted off or made to suffer under Heather's cruel intentions without any support…before being voted off.
Everything within logic and reason said one thing…the relationship couldn't be exposed.
Harold closed his eyes and took in a heavy, guilty gulp of air. "Fine, Duncan. I'll do it." He said, in a wheezy voice so lowered by shame and disgust that it was barely audible.
Duncan smirked in victory, and that smirk increased when he saw Harold hating himself for submitting to him. "Glad to hear it. Maybe you're not as dumb as I thought you were? Now, let's start this off with something simple, something to show that you'll play along. For me to keep your relationship with Lindsay a secret for the rest of today, all you have to do is to get a high score in the talent show challenge. Just get like a seven or higher."
Harold looked confused and couldn't help but raise one of his eyebrows in suspicion. "Why do you want me to do that, Duncan?"
Duncan glared at the Nerd. "The why is none of your concern! All that matters is that I want you do to it. Remember, you'll do whatever I tell you do without question. Clear!?"
Harold hung his head as he sadly said, "Crystal."
"Good!" Duncan snapped harshly. A second or two later, Duncan's demeanor changed and seemed to lighten as he smiled. "But just this once, I'll answer your question, Nerd. Yesterday you someone managed to win the challenge for the Killer Bass by yourself. I want to see something. I want to see if yesterday was just a fluke or if you actually are worth keeping around despite being a pathetic excuse for a man in almost every way. Now, since you were likely going to compete tonight anyway, I'm sure you'll have no issue with this, right?"
"Yeah…" Harold said slowly, still not believing that his first act of submission to Duncan would be something like this, something that wasn't humiliating or painful or cruel. "But what about Courtney? She made it perfectly clear that she doesn't want me to compete."
"Don't worry about Miss Prim and Proper." Duncan answered with a knowing smile that hinted at more than what he was saying. "Most of the talents that I've seen on the Bass suck. I'm sure she'll have no choice but to put you into the talent show."
Harold, not knowing what Duncan met and wanting for him to leave, simply nodded.
"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to elsewhere. I'll looking forward to seeing your talent tonight. But not as much as I'm looking forward to the humiliating things you'll have to do after today's challenge. I've got some good things in mind. Until then, good luck…Nerd." Duncan said before walking away from Harold.
Once the Punk was out of sight, Harold allowed his emotional turmoil to reach the surface. Tears start to build up behind his thick green glasses and sobs escaped him.
Even though the terms of this deal were quite agreeable for tonight, Harold hated himself more than ever for agreeing to it, for submitting himself to Duncan's will. There was something that Harold hated even more; a part of him feared that Duncan was right. Maybe he wasn't man enough to have someone as great as Lindsay as a girlfriend!?
Feeling so confused and overwhelmed, so defeated and broken, Harold slowly walked away. Knowing that he would be doing what Duncan wanted made his feet very heavy.
Even if the current arrangement didn't seem to bad, this was still a deal with Duncan, with a villain as far as Harold was concerned. And deals with villains rarely end well.
Despite that, Harold felt like he had no other choice in the matter, like he couldn't stop it.
After all, as this whole debacle had clearly shown…he couldn't be Lindsay's superhero.
And there you have it! I hope that this chapter enjoyable and you liked it.
Once again, I'm so sorry for the long wait but I really struggled with this one for some reason. I can't make any promises when the final chapter will be uploaded.
In the meantime, please: read, review, alert, favor, and spread the word! :)